How does Joyce use language and stream of consciousness narration (free indirect discourse) to characterize Stephen?
Consider tone; consider imagery/senses and binary oppositions (e.g. hot/cold, light/dark); syntax and diction; and more
How does Joyce use Stephen's interest in language to characterize him?
Stephen's interest in the sounds of words; in the differing and multiple meanings of words; his use of language to identify himself and others; the way all of these change as Stephen matures; and others
This novel is an example of a Bildungsroman and a specifically a Kunstlerroman; find examples of Stephen's growth (moral, spiritual, artistic, etc.) through the novel.
For example, consider Stephen's attitude toward authority and authority figures and how this changes as he matures (initial impetus for this occurs in Chapter 1: argument at Christmas dinner, and later, Stephen getting wrongfully punished and then seeking out his own redemption)
Related to Bildungsroman is, for Joyce's writings, the concept of his epiphany. Identify Stephen's epiphanies and their effects on his development.
How does Joyce use other formal devices such as symbolism, allusion, and motif to inform the novel? Trace the use and development of some of these symbols (birds, colors, water, binary oppositions such as hot/cold, etc.)
1) Describe the narrator. What do we learn about him from the beginning of the story?
2) The characters in "Araby" are unnamed and shadowy figures. Why would Joyce choose to leave the characters unnamed? How does point of view inform the story?
3) Highlight (or otherwise identify) descriptions of Mangan's sister--what sort of imagery is used to describe her?
4) What is "Araby"? Why is the narrator obsessed with going there? Highlight (Identify) images associated with "Araby."
5) "Araby" ends with an epiphany, like many of Joyce's stories, but there is debate over what the narrator's epiphany actually is. What is his epiphany? What are the sources of his anger and anguish?
6) Highlight (ID) references to sight/blindness and light/dark--how do these motifs inform the story?
7) ID any motifs or references to the narrator's Quest. What is his Quest (what is he desiring to do)? What is the result of his Quest? How is this ironic?
"The only demand I make of my reader is that he should devote his whole life to reading my works."
-James Joyce
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Questions/Considerations
Dubliners
Rubric Literary Analysis TheDead.doc
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Joyce and Dubliners background info:James Joyce, "The Dead"
James Joyce, "Araby"
1) Describe the narrator. What do we learn about him from the beginning of the story?
2) The characters in "Araby" are unnamed and shadowy figures. Why would Joyce choose to leave the characters unnamed? How does point of view inform the story?
3) Highlight (or otherwise identify) descriptions of Mangan's sister--what sort of imagery is used to describe her?
4) What is "Araby"? Why is the narrator obsessed with going there? Highlight (Identify) images associated with "Araby."
5) "Araby" ends with an epiphany, like many of Joyce's stories, but there is debate over what the narrator's epiphany actually is. What is his epiphany? What are the sources of his anger and anguish?
6) Highlight (ID) references to sight/blindness and light/dark--how do these motifs inform the story?
7) ID any motifs or references to the narrator's Quest. What is his Quest (what is he desiring to do)? What is the result of his Quest? How is this ironic?
James Joyce, "Eveline"